By Ginger Thompson

Mexico won a seat on the United
Nations Security Council today, strengthening President
Vicente Fox's efforts to move his country away from its
traditional isolation toward an active role in world
affairs.

The victory marks the first time in two decades that Mexico
will serve on the Council and comes after considerable
effort by Mr. Fox. He spent much of the first nine months
of his presidency traveling across Europe, Asia and Latin
America seeking votes from world leaders.

"Mexico recognizes that in an increasingly globalized
world, international matters can no longer be detached from
our national interests," said Mexico's foreign minister,
Jorge G. Casteñeda. "That commits us to make Mexico a major
contributor to world debates, particularly in the face of
circumstances that constitute threats to peace and
international security."

Foreign policy experts said the two-year term on the
Security Council would give Mexico - the world's
10th-largest nation with about 100 million people - a
platform from which to press for new strategies to deal
with immigration, drug trafficking, organized crime and
trade disputes.

The victory also gives Mr. Fox an opportunity to improve
his image at home, where political leaders have raised
questions about his leadership abilities during world
crises.

In the wake of the terrorist attacks on the United States,
President Fox was criticized for not calling Mexicans to
national demonstrations of solidarity and condolence, like
those that were organized across Europe. Members of the
president's own cabinet also made contradictory statements
about how far Mexico would go to support the United States
response to the attacks.

But Mr. Fox eventually came out with "unconditional
support" for the United States and reiterated that support
in a televised address on Sunday, after the United States
mounted an attack on Afghanistan.

Debate in Mexico about Mr. Fox's campaign for a seat on the
Security Council has been equally intense, with opponents
worried that Mexico would be called to send help to police
settlements of violent conflicts.

President Fox has said he would be willing to send Mexican
peacekeepers for United Nations missions. But foreign
policy experts said they expected Mexico's contributions to
focus more on diplomacy.

"The Security Council's work has changed dramatically since
the end of the cold war," said Jorge Montano, a former
Mexican ambassador to the United Nations and to Washington.
"Its work is more creative. It involves much more than
peacekeeping missions. It involves preventive diplomacy.
And that is where I think Mexico can play its most
significant role."

In addition to approving a seat for Mexico, the United
Nations also voted on Monday to give two-year seats on the
Council to Syria, Bulgaria, Cameroon and Guinea.

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